


The Making Of Something or Another

by PearshapedPeach



Category: Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-04 18:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4148715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PearshapedPeach/pseuds/PearshapedPeach
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mabel wants to make a movie about a prince and a princesses in forbidden love, but the production is a disaster and the prince and the cameraman fall in love between takes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fade In

“How about him?” Dipper asked, pointing to a boy walking past their car.

“No, too mean looking.” Mabel answered.

The twins were parked by a park in the main street, a popular place to hang out in the summer days. Dipper shook his plastic cup, all the ice melted and dripped on his shirt, he started to sweat again.

“Him!” Mabel yelled and he almost dropped the cup.

He looked to whom she pointed, a tall, rather lanky boy with a long nose and clothes out of place, playing ball with a little kid.

“Him?” Dipper raised an eyebrow, but his sister already had left the car.

She ran to the stranger with unsettling enthusiasm, Dipper paced behind to keep his twin from kidnapping the boy on sight.

“Hi!” She almost yelled.

Startled the boy turned to her, “Hi?”

“Hi! I'm Mabel!” She put on her best smile with full red cheeks from the heat. “This is my brother, Dipper.” She pulled Dipper to her.

“I'm Wirt.” He said with a polite low voice.

“Wirt!” The little kid ran to him and grabbed his leg, “Hi!” He smiled at the twins.

“This is my brother...” Wirt patted his brother's hair.

“He is so cute!” Mabel crouched and squeezed the kid's cheeks, he seemed to like it and laughed, as awkward as it was for their respective brothers.

“Mabel, can we get to it already? I wanna go home.” Dipper said, pulling her back up.

“Yes, yes.” She stared at Wirt up and down, the boy blushed. “So, I'm making a movie!” She said, “And it's about  a prince that's in love with a princess, but has to marry another princess, but she doesn't want that either, so they fight against their families. ” She dramatized with anger.

“That's... nice.” Wirt remained confused.

“You look perfect for the prince!” She stated.

“Oh, wow, that's uh... very flattering” He looked to his feet and to Dipper and back at Mabel.

“But I'm not an actor.”

“No one is, we have no idea what we are doing.” Dipper shrugged.

“Psst!” Mabel elbowed him, “Anyway, we have free food.”

“Allegedly...” She elbowed him harder.

“I don't live here, we are just visiting a relative for a couple of weeks.”

“The shooting won't take long!” Mabel insisted, coming out a bit too strong and desperate.

“He can't, let's go home.” Dipper tried to ease the situation, seeing how Wirt was uncomfortable.

“Wait, I guess I can do it.” Wirt said with his polite thin smile.

“Yes!” Mabel jumped in celebration, making the whole park turn to her. Dipper face palmed. “Do you have a number? Shooting starts this afternoon, after lunch, Dipper, give him a pamphlet! Can you be there at two? What are your measures?” She blurted all in one breath, the boys stared blankly processing the information as she tapped her foot, staring at her brother.

“Oh, yeah.” Dipper took a pamphlet from his inner pocket and handed to Wirt.

He stared at the big house pictured in the paper with spooky Halloween stock fonts with the address. “I'm 1,76. Do I need to bring anything?”

“Only your talent!” Mabel snapped her fingers and winked at him, before being pulled by Dipper, who smiled at the overwhelmed kid.

 

“He is perfect!” Mabel sat down, pulling the seatbelt.

“Please tell me you don't have a crush on him.” Dipper sighed as he started the car.

“No! I'm being professional here, Dipper. I see the role and he fits perfectly!” She looked at him, her eyes shined.

“I expected someone like that puppet obsessed creep...Ugh, I don't even want to remember.” Dipper shook his head away and turned his attention to the road.

“Me neither. And I don't want a prince like that, so cliché. My prince looks human and kind, when I saw him playing with his little brother, I knew it.”

“Whatever you say.” Dipper turned the radio on, not ready for the insane day ahead.

 

\---

 

Dipper sat on the floor of the porch as he watched Mabel, Candy and Grenda stage their “set”. His sister was kind to him this time, no roles in front of the camera, in fact, Dipper would be right behind the camera, filming to Mabel's orders,fully detailed in his fifty pages manuscript that he didn't read (but said he did). She was taking this more seriously than the sock opera, yet Dipper expected it to be a sudden obsession that would die out before they were done, like her past attempts on a cooking show, fashion show, improv theatre, etc.

Soos ran past him with his tools, the poor man was handling the complex set pieces, but he seemed pleased to do so.  _ Good old Soos. _

“Wirt!” Mabel shouted, waving frenetic as if she wasn't in clear view.

He had his hands on his pockets and a visible blush, even from distance, it grew stronger when the trio gathered around like a gang about to mug him.

“Hi” He muttered, resembling cornered prey.

“This is Wirt, our prince.” Mabel 'displayed' him to the girls.

“He is _perfect_.” Candy's whisper sent chills down his spine.

“So, Wirt. We are finishing the last touches and waiting for the  _ hollywood fashionably late Oscar worthy actress _ to arrive.” Her tone turned bitter in an instance. “Anyway, Dipper can give you your copy of the script.” She winked and they turned to the set, Candy kept staring at him with her back turned.

“Hey.” He smiled at the boy sitting at the porch.

“You won't get used to it, if you're wondering.” Dipper said, handing him a surprisingly thick pile of paper. “You'll want to be sit before reading.”

Wirt sat next to him, turning the pages.

“The format has some mistakes.” He muttered under his breath.

“You know about this stuff?”

Wirt's cheeks flustered, “I wrote a few for my school's theatre.”

“Good, maybe you can save this mess.” They stared at the girls apparently having an argument. “It's the third one today.”

“I presume Mabel is directing?”

“Yes, but she likes to call a  _ 'mutual effort' _ near the others.” Dipper smiled with malice.

“This is bad, crew positions exists for a reason.”

“You want an advice?” Dipper turned to Wirt, “Don't get involved, it's not worth it.” He shrugged and stood up, wiping the dust from his pants. “You want something to drink?”

Wirt shook his head.

An expensive black car parked by the road.

“Here she is!” Dipper proclaimed with a bit of mockery in his voice.

The driver opened the door to a blonde girl with huge sunglasses and a sharp sport coat, carrying a very small purse with sequin that shined against the sun.

“Sorry, I forgot the red carpet.” He said.

She rolled her eyes and threw the purse to his arms, “Don't make that mistake again.” She ordered, Dipper bowed and left.

“Finally. I said at two!” Mabel snarled.

“Are you even finished with the set?” She asked, lowering her sunglasses. Mabel looked at it disappointed. “See, now I'll have to wait anyway.” She clapped twice, “Dipper! Where's my water?”

“In the sink!” He yelled from the house.

“You know what I'm talking about.” She walked to the entrance, halting at the sight of Wirt. “You must be the prince.”

“Hi, I'm Wirt.” He stood up, staring at his reflection in her purple lenses as she scanned him up and down.

“Pacifica.” She crossed her arms, “Listen, we'll be sharing a lot of screen time, don't mess those scenes, but don't try to out act me.” She stated, “If this go well, I can convince my parents and start my acting career earlier. This is important. At least my parts.” She shrugged.

Dipper approached, handing her a bottle of Fiji water. “Stop scaring him”

“Whatever, I'm just glad you're kind of cute, but not as cute as me.” She said, making Wirt red again. “I'm going inside to keep cool, tell me when they are done screwing around.” She cat walked into the house with loud heavy steps of her wooden heels.

“She is quite... intimidating.” Wirt said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Bah, she's all talk.” Dipper said, “Anyway, you should go dress, see if fits.” He handed Wirt a very smooth azure costume.

Wirt unfolded it, he contorted his face to hide his regretful expression, Dipper smile in sympathy. “I got her to make it less skin tight, it's an improvement.”

“Er, thanks...” Wirt folded it.

He followed Dipper to a colourful bedroom littered with crafting supplies and DIY projects,. It took a bit of effort and stretching to fit, specially the legs and under his arms, he prayed not to sweat too much. The material was decent, the same they used at his school, and the design was basic, if a bit too bright. He was pleased as he looked at the mirror, it didn't look as bad besides the skin tight arms and below his ankles, but it was too saturated for the camera.

Maybe he should go against Dipper's advice and talk to Mabel for her sake.

He left the room to find Dipper and Pacifica in the kitchen, she started to chuckle, the boy turned to him and froze. Wirt became self aware and clinched the puffed up fabric in the hips.

“How do I look?” He dared to ask.

Dipper was red, eyes fixed on him, making Wirt even more nervous. “You- you...” He stuttered and shook his head, “You need this.” He picked up a cone hat a shade darker than his costume.

Wirt held it, a bitter sweet sensation churned in his stomach as he placed it on his head.

“Something wrong?” The shorter boy asked.

Wirt shook his head and returned a smile.

“Perfect” Dipper muttered, “I mean, you're done...”

“I'm so glad I didn't let her dress me.” Pacifica laughed.

“You're nice, don't listen to her.” Dipper patted Wirt's shoulder, who nodded, unable to look away from the boy's brown eyes.

Dipper blushed and turned away to Pacifica.

“Why are you even here? You don't have any scene.” He asked, she shrugged.

“Ask your sister, she makes the schedule of this mess.”

-

 

Ten minutes later, Mabel called everyone to the set for a pep talk about the production, what the movie meant, how things were going to be done, the crew couldn't help it but feel like they were in a fascist regime.

Dipper shrugged, Pacifica rolled her eyes, Wirt nodded, Soos gave a thumbs up.

“Okay!” She clapped her hands. “First scene! Dipper, get to the camera.”

 

They settled in their positions, the set was a simple wood picnic table decorated with plastic food and fake antique décor, surrounded by flower vases. Dipper knew that he couldn't do better if he wanted, yet he held a laugh when he looked through the camera.

Grenda and Candy sat at the table, wearing Mabel's handmade period clothes. They picked the plastic utensils and pretended to be dining.

Dipper put his headphones and turned the camera on, Soos held the clapperboard in front of it. “And action!” Dipper shouted, smiling at how cool he sounded, Soos clapped it close and ran to the grab the microphone boom.

Mabel dressed in a pink and simple handmade costume walked into the scene.

“What a beautiful morning!” She said overly sweet. “Hi friends, how are you doing?”

“Marvelous, Princess Maple!” Grenda shouted a bit too loud, making Dipper flinch. “It's a lovely day in our beautiful kingdom!”

“And it's going to be a even lovelier night at the ball.” Mabel said, taking a sip of the empty teacup, her pinky pointing out. She stopped and dropped her posture, “Soos, can you get rid of this bird?”

“Cut!” Dipper yelled, hearing a loud sigh from the blonde behind him.

“Sure, Mabel.” He picked up a broom behind he flowers. “Now, where is it?”

“What's the problem with the bird? We are supposed to be outside.” Candy asked.

“It's distracting! What if we can't hear ourselves later?” She asked, walking out of frame.

“I could barely hear it.” Dipper said, “I would say something. By the way, Grenda, you don't need to shout so loud.”

“Sorry, I'm so excited.” She smiled.

“Found it!” Soos said, aiming the broom like a spear.

“Don't hurt it!” Wirt yelled, everyone turned their heads to him. He slumped his shoulders, “Just... scare it away.”

Soos threw the broom at the tree, making the bird fly away and the chirping stopped, the broom fell at the precarious table holding the flower vases and they crashed into the ground.

“No!” Mabel yelled as if she was stabbed, running to the fallen flowers.

“Oops.” Soos whispered.

Pacifica grunted something, heading back to the shack.

“It's okay! They are plastic vases, we can put it together!” Candy said with her usual calming voice.

“Careful with the dresses!” Grenda yelled as Mabel crouched to the dirt.

She yelled again, looking down at her stained dress. “Dipper, Soos,  _ do something! _ ”

Soos hurried to gather the plants with Dipper slugging behind. Wirt was frozen in his spot, watching it all unfold.

 

Another ten minutes later, the set was almost as it was before, the bent and torn flowers were set behind the ones unaffected. Mabel was displeased at the colour combination, but it was the best they could have done.

“And it's going to be a even lovelier night at the ball.” Mabel said, taking a sip of the empty teacup, her pinky pointing out.

“Oh, I wonder if Prince Wallace will be there.” Candy whispered as she took a sip of nothing.

“Cut!” Dipper yelled and everyone grunted. “I can't hear you, Candy.”

“Okay, sorry...” She hung her head.

“Louder, please.” Dipper ordered.

“Sorry.” She said louder, almost to a shout, her skin turning pink.

“A little bit lower.”

“How about this?” She asked, dipper raised his thumb making her smile.

“Ugh, get on with it,” Pacifica grunted “I don't even know why you insist on me being here now, Mabel.”

“You need to know the plot, because I'm sure you didn't read any of the script beside your scenes.” Mabel ran her hand through her hair and brushed it back. Pacifica sneered at the truth.

“Okay, let's go.” Dipper interrupted. “Take three.” Soos clapped the board. “Action!”

 

The scene went on to take six, after Grenda forgot her line and a loud motorcycle passed by.

One and a half hour in and the crew crammed themselves in the corner and by the of the Mabel's bedroom as the girl trio sat on the sofa covered by a cheap dark red velvet cloth. Grenda and Candy wore fancy dresses, yellow and blue respectively. Mabel set by a cheap old mirror, combing her hair.

This scene goes on for another hour, between accidents like hitting the boom mic against the ceiling, making the person with headphones yell, or inappropriate props like a pink kitty comb. By the end, half of the crew was bored and hungry and the other half was arguing characters motivations and screen time.

“Why can't I have a beauty montage? My beauty deserves to be shown!” Yelled Grenda

“Because I'm the main character!” Mabel yelled back

“I just noticed that my lines are all about you.” Candy whispered in between shouts.

 

Dipper grabbed Wirt's arm and pulled him away while no one was watching.

“We told you there was free food, I guess I'll have to fulfil the promise.”

“Nice, my paycheck!”

Dipper opened the fridge, browsing through it, ignoring his sister's miscreations for something that wouldn't scare his guest away.

“We have leftover pizza, ice cream, there are chips in the counter.” He turned to Wirt twisting his lips to hold a laugh.

“I was expecting a buffet when you said free food.”

“I said allegedly!” He raised his hands in defence “Mabel and her friends cooked things, but you better stay away from them. The pudding is spicy.”

Wirt raised an eyebrow, “I guess I'll have the chips.” He pointed to a bag over the counter.

“Smart choice.” Dipper winked, opening the bag.

They sat on the table, Dipper took a handful of chips, while Wirt picked a couple.

“Enjoying Falls?” The host asked with his mouth full.

“It's pretty, but my family didn't let me do anything by myself, it gets kind of tiresome.”

“I know what you mean, Mabel first stole my camera, then forced me into this, at least I'm doing something, I guess.” Dipper shrugged, his smile had disappeared.

“What do your parents do here, it's a store?” Wirt asked, looking at the merchandise piled in a corner and the various stickers on the fridge.

“My parents are in Piedmont. We live with our granduncle in the mysterious Mystery Shack! The most overpriced tourist trap in all Gravity Falls!” He raised his arms at the house.

Wirt laughed. “Sounds fun.”

“Not when you are in child labour.” Dipper chuckled “But it's better than back home.”

Wirt notice a hint of sadness as Dipper's voice cracked at the word 'home'. “Can I have some water?” He asked to break the tension.

“Yeah, sure.” The host jumped from his seat to the fridge, taking a bottle of pristine water.

“Isn't that Pacifica's?” Wirt asked as the other poured it in a glass.

“Shh.” He had a finger against his lips as he served them both.

Wirt took a sip of the fancy water, washing his thirst instantly “Whoever said all water tastes the same was wrong.”

“I still can't taste much difference.”

“Dipper! Wirt! Break's over!” They heard Grenda yell from the hallway.

They looked at each other, “It's your turn, prince charming.” Dipper couldn't help but smile, biting his lips from laughing, Wirt smiled back, twisting his own lips and nodded. They got up and walked to the set.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Oh, my beautiful, gracious Maple!” Wirt pranced through the set, a reorganized version of the first one, the flowers falling apart. “I have the most horrible news!”

“Tell me, my love, what could possibly be so horrid in such beautiful day?” Mabel asked, sitting on a old wooden bench probably stolen from the park, in her pink dress that she constantly tried to hide the dirt stains.

“My parents, the king and the queen, they ordered me to marry someone else!” Wirt spoke with more composure than Mabel ordered him, but she didn't stop.

“Oh no!” She yelled, making up for Wirt's quietness, “Whom is this intruder on our love?”

“Princess Atlantica!” He exclaimed, Mabel pretended to faint.

Wirt quickly glanced at Dipper and held a laugh as the cameraman had his two hands over his mouth also trying his best not to lose himself in a laughing fit, Mabel would throw a tantrum, just like the first time she announced the name.

The cameraman turned to the mentioned girl, she stopped typing furiously on her phone to send a venomous stare at his sly grin. She had protested the name before, but when Mabel tried to argue, she shrugged, stating that she could turn any character into acting gold, despite how bizarre they were. Everyone in the room rolled their eyes, even the maid.

“But she does not love you like I do!” Mabel whimpered.

Wirt kneeled beside her and held her hand, “I know, and I don't love anyone, but you. Yet I can't run away from this dammed fate!”

“Why not, my love?” She placed her other hand on his, staring into his eyes “We can run from all of this and be happy forever.”

“I can't, I have a responsibility!” He turned away, letting their hands go, “My mother can no longer give birth, I'm the only heir to the throne, I can't leave my people behind.”

Mabel stood up, lifting head high and stared intently at something out of frame, she started a monologue about star-crossed lovers, their families, their destiny while Wirt tried his best to remain emotional when all he wanted was Dipper to yell cut so he could get rid of that outfit not fit for summertime.

The cameraman in question was staring at him from the screen of his camera, chewing at the straw from the juice box he was drinking. Keeping his fingers from zooming in on the actor, distressed at his own uncontrollable, unusual thoughts about the sweat glistening the prince's forehead as he did a convincing job on looking passionate.

Mabel pulls Wirt close, holding his hands with tenderness, “We will be together.”

They remain in that pose of a few seconds, waiting for the magic word.

“Dipper!” Candy whispers, poking his shoulder.

He jumps and squeezes his juice, spilling it all over him, “Action!”

“No! It's cut! That's a wrap!” Mabel took control.

The pretend lovers leave the set, she picked the script from Grenda, who lead her through the next scene along Soos.

 

Wirt approached the cameraman wiping the juice from his shirt “So, what did you think?” He asked, smiling at the boy's distress.

Dipper stopped and stared at the dashing prince before him, he felt stupid with his stained shirt “You are really good.”

Wirt smiled, making Dipper's cheeks heat even more. “Thanks, I guess I picked up something from the school's theatre.”

“You acted before?”

“My girlfriend at the time used to make me rehearse with her, but I get uncomfortable in a stage.”

Dipper felt his heart tighten and he forced a smile, but his eyes couldn't fake it.

“It's weird how comfortable I felt in front of a camera though,” Wirt continued, unaware of the shorter man's twisting his lips and squeezing the juice pack dry. “It's a totally different thing, it seems...”

Dipper shook his head and Wirt's muffled voice came rushing back.

“...I guess is because it's safer to make mistakes, or because I don't have to scream even while whispering.” Dipper nodded, though lost in the conversation. “...and the spotlight, ugh.”

Mabel and Grenda started to argue again with Soos in between like a statue, his wide eyes going from one girl to another.

“She is worrying me.” Her brother whispered to Wirt. “Usually this is all about fun, but she looks distressed.”

“Why don't you talk to her, then?”

“Nope.” He waved his hands “I'm staying away from all of this.”

They stopped for a break, serving the bizarre food that Dipper warned Wirt about and he was right. Wirt starred at the colourful trays on the counter. The three girls and Soos served themselves while Wirt and Pacifica stayed in the living room, she was focused on her phone while he stood by the door, analysing the rustic decór of the house, with Mabel touches all over it. Dipper was nowhere to be found.

Wirt didn't think twice when Mabel allowed him to remove his costume and told him to use Dipper's bedroom upstairs. He couldn't find the owner to ask for permission like the polite person he was raised to be. Uneasy, he entered the bedroom, a mess of books, scattered clothes and papers. He blushed at the open drawer of underwear.

To leave as fast as possible, Wirt struggled to take off the tight fabric from his pants down his knees, he tried to pry it away while pulling the top over his head, getting it stuck at his shoulders, the small size and the tightness of fabric in the armpits kept him from pulling it away completely. He couldn't keep balance with his pants down to his ankles and fell against Dipper's bed. As he wrestled against the outfit, the door opened.

“What the hell?” He heard and froze in fear and shame, his cheeks couldn't get any hotter. “Let me help you.” The voice was Dipper's.

Two hands grabbed the costume from his back and with mutual effort, they got it past Wirt's head, but not without a loud ripping sound. “Damn.” Dipper muttered, holding the torn costume, the thin blue fabric stretched and faded, with a couple of holes in the back.

“Oh no, tell me I don't have anything else to do today.” Wirt asked.

“No. Don't worry, Mabel can fix it.” Dipper said, his eyes lingered to the half naked sweaty boy lying and panting on his bed.

Wirt's situation finally dawned on him, he darted out of the bed, laughing nervously and took his clothes from the hanger. Dipper turned away, but his eyes kept deceiving him to take a peek while his guest struggled to dress quickly.

“Sorry, Mabel told me to come here, I couldn't find you to ask for permission” Wirt's voice trembled, struggling to put his pants.

“It's okay,” Dipper said, heart racing as he stared at the other's lean back while he tightened his belt.

Now dressed, Wirt turned to him. “I'm done, you can turn around.”

“Yeah, sure...” Dipper lowered the bundled costume over his waist and turned to the boy sporting a hilarious and messy quiff that was kinda adorable. “Nice hair.” He chuckled as the other pampered it down.

“Guys! Meeting downstairs” Soos shouted.

“You go ahead, I just need to get some things.” Dipper stuttered, turning his back until Wirt left. He took a long breath, letting it out into a long sigh, “Damn, I'm acting like my sister” He scoffed, throwing the ruined cloth over his bed.

When he got back, everyone had gathered outside on a circle. Mabel's usual bright smile replaced with a frown as she discussed something with Grenda. Dipper made a mental note to talk to her after everybody left. Wirt was looking down, his arms crossed tightly pressed against his chest like he was cold. Pacifica chewed a gum loud enough to express her impatience, she walked up to him before he could join the others.

“You have to do something about your sister.” She whispered.

“It's her movie.”

“Yeah and it's driving her crazy.” She said taking a glance at his twin. Dipper was glad he wasn't alone. “Talk to her or something...”

“Okay, but I won't do it in front of everyone.”

“Everybody!” Mabel shouted, “We are done today, shooting tomorrow starts at ten.”

“No way,” Pacifica stepped up “You're filming in my house, no one is awake at ten. One in the afternoon is as early as it gets.”

Mabel sneered, throwing her hands up, the script crumpled in her grip, Pacifica cocked her head in response. “Fine!” She grunted, “One PM at Pacifica's house.”

“I don't know where she lives.” Wirt whispered.

“I'll give you a ride,” Dipper blurted, “I mean,” He coughed, “Soos will.”

“Okay then,” Mabel interrupted “It's a wrap! See you tomorrow everybody!”

The group disbanded. Pacifica magically summoned a car, Grenda went to hers alongside Candy and Soos to his. Dipper ran to Wirt before he could leave.

“So, uh, we meet you at the park at noon?” He stuttered.

“Yeah, sure.” Wirt smile was polite and nervous, Dipper noticed.

“If you want to back down, it's fine.” He said, praying for a no. “I mean, you were expecting free food, but all you got was chips.” He faked a grin, “And the costume? I'm so sorry for that, must've been awful.”

“No no,” Wirt raised his hands “I had fun, I'm just a bit tired.” He shivered after a sudden gust of cool wind.

“Let me give you a ride back.”

Wirt shook his head, “It's okay, I can walk back.”

The shorter boy bowed his head, his friend looked tired and ready to leave, “I'll see you tomorrow then.” He forced a smile.

“Yeah,” Wirt waved his hand goodbye, “Thanks, it was fun.”

Dipper watched as he left. The sky darkening with heavy clouds and a breeze that was bound to get stronger, swaying the trees side to side, the sound of leaves struggling to keep from falling. He dreaded the sound, for their sake -specially Mabel- a storm was the last thing they needed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me if this felt rushed, I got stuck rewriting this chapter as best as I could, but I need to revise the others and Ive been very busy lately. If it feels rushed, I'll spend more time even if it means it will take a while to update.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about grammar mistakes, I couldn't revise it as much as I wanted to :/

Dipper tried, he really did, as they loaded the car with the props and costumes, he begged his sister to take it down a notch, have fun, but she kept a grimace the whole time, seemingly detached from the conversation.

He sat on the back seat and Soos drove them to pick Wirt, something that he was looking forward through the whole time since the boy left. Filled with doubt and maybe a little bit of acceptance with all the “having a crush thing”. He didn't tell his sister, not in that state of mind.

They spotted the prince sitting on a bench, his little brother next to him, playing with a handheld game. Wirt had to shake his arm to wake him up from the trance and they walked to the car.

“Hi.” He smiled, Dipper smiled, “I'm sorry, my brother doesn't have anyone to look after him today, do you mind if I bring him along?”

“Not at all.” Mabel answered, waving to the little kid, “Hi, Greg!”

“Hi!” Greg waved with great enthusiasm.

They got into the backseat, Greg in the middle, he waved to Dipper who smiled back.

“I fixed your costume,” Mabel turned to Wirt, “It's bigger now too.”

“Oh, thank you.” Wirt smiled, “Sorry about ruining it.”

“Don't worry, I did it in a flash.”

-

The ride to the manor was quiet with the exception of the faint radio, the loud thunders and Mabel going back and forward with the script's pages, sporting a constant frown while making notes and crossing lines.

Wirt was impressed with the house on the top of the hill, imposing and beautiful, a sight of opulence. The gates opened and they unloaded the car, with Pacifica watching over with a look that couldn't possibly show more boredom without melting all the features from her face. Candy and Grenda arrived a moment after, the production team gathered in a circle and, once again, started arguing, Mabel wasn't the only one to change the script.

Wirt couldn't care less, busy in awe at the aesthetics of the house and keeping his brother from destroying it with his curiosity. Dipper sat on a lounge chair, mindlessly playing with the camera, filming Wirt appreciating the paintings to Pacifica appreciating the mirror to his sister reading the same two lines out loud over and over again. He intended to use it as proof of her behaviour, but she would call it waste of film -it was digital-.

“Aren't you going to do something?” Pacifica asked, looking at the camera. Dipper shrugged, looking at her through the screen. She was already dressed in a leaner dark purple dress, minimalistic if compared to Mabel's, that focused on her silhouette, the tiara on her hair with dark stones complemented it perfectly.

“You look like a fairytale evil queen.” He commented

Her smile gave him chills, “I know.”

“You're not supposed to.”

She bowed her head slightly, batted her long and dark eyelashes “I know.” and left Dipper staring dumbfounded at the screen.

He turned it off and laid back on the chair, letting out a long sigh, the constant bickering in the background was starting to wear him off.

“We are not off to a good start.” Wirt commented, approaching the lying boy.

Dipper looked up to him, dressed in his prince costume, a darker shade this time. He stared at the girls hunched over a table scribbling a script,“I'm glad I didn't memorized it.”

“Does it fit well?” Dipper asked, giving him space to sit, the boy nodded and sat.

“Why are they fighting?” Greg came over, holding his video game.

“Creative differences” Said Wirt, his back curved and shoulders slouched, Greg raised an eyebrow and got back to his game.

Dipper stood up and before Wirt realized, the boy walked to his twin. The girls had their backs turned to him, he coughed, no one heard, impatient he tapped on her shoulders, she turned to him with red pepper cheeks and flared nostrils, he couldn't help from stepping back “Can we hurry up?” His voice cracked, “We have a lot to shoot today.”

“You think I don't know that?” She yelled, but at seeing her brother recoil, Mabel took a long breath and all the red on her face disappeared, her cheeks turned to the familiar pink. She grabbed the script and walked to the centre of the room, “Okay people, we made some change on the script. This time an evil agent will put a spell on the prince and he will no longer love me...”

She looked around to evaluate everyone's expression, but no one was anything but bored. “So me and Atlantica will have to find a cupid and make him make the prince love me again before the wedding.”

Dipper bit his lips, he looked around the room and, call it twin telepathy or just the obvious. The two new characters were already cast: baby faced Greg and disgruntled looking Dipper.

“Greg, you will be the cupid!” She kneeled before him and smiled, “You get to wear big fluffy wings and a shiny halo!”

The kid's eyes went wide and bright, almost dropping his console, he turned to his brother “Wirt! Wirt! I'm going to be the cupid!” He bounced with a smile.

“I heard, Greg, I'm right here.” He mumbled, lying on the chair with a look of distress.

Dipper was equal, fingers crossed hoping that she would stand up and walk to Soos, who was close to falling asleep on a couch. She didn't, instead she spun around and pranced to him with that look of “I know I said something, but I changed my mind” that he feared so much.

“Dipper,” She smiled, “Bro-bro” He swallowed, “Yin to my Yang!” She placed her hands on his shoulders, “You will be the evil agent.”

Dipper opened his mouth “But Mabel-”

She placed her finger over his lips “It will be fast, you will have a scarf over most of your face to hide the fact that you're my twin.” She smiled, “I'll make you look like grandpa! Isn't that awesome?”

Dipper rolled his eyes, there was no stopping her now. He looked over to Wirt smiling. That meant they would share a scene and he would be looking cool while making him dislike a girl, how perfect (and rather pathetic) was that? He nodded and she cheered, that seemed to raise her spirits a bit, he smiled back.

“Let's go, Pacifica, it's your scene now.” She walked over to her, but stopped midway, turned around and hugged her brother tight. “Thanks!” She smiled.

 

-

Pacifica sat before her vanity table, combing her hair. They got one of her maids to call her off screen and tell the prince had arrived, she scoffed and kept working on her hair.

“I don't care about such frivolous affairs,” She said to herself with a wonky english accent that raised Dipper's eyebrows, “The prince can wait all he wants.”

Wirt heard his call and knocked on the door, she rolled her eyes and grumbled loud enough for him to hear, “How dare you step in my bedroom?” She looked to him on the mirror, Dipper found a great angle to show both without him and Soos appearing, that got him so proud.

“I'm sorry, my princess, but I was sent here.” Wirt said, his two hands folded in front of him as he stood by the door, acting uncomfortable with the situation.

“Enough.” She interrupted, “We must speak about our unfortunate situation anyway. Close the door”

Wirt complied, leaving the three girls and Greg hiding in the hallway. The scene developed smoothly, and despite the accent, Pacifica was indeed a good actress and Wirt's experience was evident. Away from the directors' gazes, the duo ad libbed and improvised. For the first time, Dipper was interested, the scene had derailed from Mabel's script and he wasn't going to stop them, Pacifica had an agenda and Wirt complied.

The walls of the manor were thick enough to keep the girls from hearing anything and they were probably too busy arguing. The scene ended with Wirt leaving “Atlantica” staring through the window, the rain making for a beautiful shot.

“Cut!” Dipper yelled, “That was amazing.”

“So cool, dudes.” Soos said, stretching his tired arms.

“How did it go?” Mabel entered the room, “It took a bit longer than I expected.”

“Good.” Dipper smiled, “It took a couple of takes, but it went well.” He lied

 

-

They filmed two more scenes that took most of the afternoon, the new script caused a lot of problems, from lines being forgotten to Pacifica getting mad for being cut while trying to improvise and the trio constantly bickering with each other even while in frame.

By the end, they were all exhausted and discomfort hung in the air, the girls on different corners of the room refusing to look at each other. Dipper avoided telling his sister that the material they recorded was genuinely awful, the blonde stared at him like she knew as well.

“We are done for today.” Mabel said, packing her props on a bag.

The rain had stopped, but the black clouds remained imposing the threat of rain, the silence remained as they drove down the hill.

“We can pick you at your house tomorrow,” Dipper said to the boys sitting next to him, “Same time, I guess.” He looked to her sister, her eyes fluttered as she fixed a small prop.

Wirt just nodded, Dipper bit his lips, his friend was not enjoying himself.

“Mabel, you need to stop this bickering with Grenda and Candy. It's getting really irritating.” He confessed, but couldn't see the expression on her face, only that she grasped at the prop and Soos seemed scared.

“Why are you telling this to me?” She turned to him, fuming. “They are the ones that think they are more important. They only care about their parts, nothing else.” She started to yell and spit.

Greg leaned to his brother, who wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Dipper sat back and turned to the window, he wasn't going to do anything here. The car stopped by a large camp house. “This is it, right?” Soos asked, looking through the mirror at Wirt.

“Yeah, thanks.” He smiled and opened the door, “I'll see you tomorrow.” He waited his brother to leave and closed the door. They got to their porch when Greg turned and waved goodbye, Wirt disappeared in the house without looking back.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You either go crazy or you wait long enough to see your fic die.

“You forgot the camera too?” Mabel yelled, throwing her hands in the air, distant thunder and lighting made her aggressive stance even more intimidating, Dipper was cornered, if he needed a final indication that his sister was out of her mind, this was it. “What are you waiting for? Go back and grab it!” She pointed to the car, “And don't forget the CD!”

Dipper raised his hands and rushed back to the car, while everyone stared at him. “I'll go with him, you know...” Wirt followed, much to the boy's relief, “To make sure he doesn't forget anything else.”

They got back to the car they had just left, Dipper with an angry grip on the wheel. Wirt sat down in silence, head slightly bowed and turned to the window. The radio played a jolly song, despite how off-putting it felt, neither of them turned it off.

When they got to the end of the hill the rain had started. Dipper stole glances, but the passenger wouldn't take his eyes off the window. “Are you okay?” He blurted, startling the other boy.

“Yeah, it's just been hard to sleep these last few nights.” Wirt stretched his legs, stiffening on the seat, “Too many noises and there is this most conveniently placed tree casting the creepiest shadows.”

“Got freaked out by Poltergeist when you were a child?” Dipper smirked.

“What?” Wirt raised an eyebrow, but then understood the reference, “No...” He bit his lips and shrugged “They are just disturbing.”

“I was worried,” Dipper said and Wirt finally looked back to him, “that you didn't want to be doing this anymore.”

“Oh, of course I do.” He smiled, “I'm having fun, sorry if I gave the wrong impression.”

“I wasn't expecting to ever make a decent film, but all this arguing is making this a hassle.”

Dipper parked as close to the porch as possible, the raindrops were heavy, making loud thumps on the car's roof, the wind shield was blurred and dirty. They ran inside, Dipper shook his head to dry off, while Wirt stood by the door hugging himself, a big drop making it's way from his neck to his spine, send him chills, he winced.

Seeing Dipper taking off his muddy shoes, he followed along, setting them nicely by the door. They found the camera and the tripod at the living room.

“Mabel was shooting something, I didn't bother finding out what.” He mumbled, his voice muffled by a deafening thunder that shook the windows. “I guess we're not leaving so soon...”

Wirt nodded, “She's going to be so mad.” Dipper shrugged, placing the camera on the tripod and looked through the window, the world seemed to be falling apart outside. 

The cd with the song for the ball was still inside the stereo, with a wicked smile, he pressed play and turned to a curious Wirt, the sound of a faint piano echoed through the room, “You'll have to dance today.” He winked and the boy twisted his lips, “Don't know how to dance?” Wirt's pink cheeks bowed down, making him smirk, he had to make his move now or never, so he raised a hand towards his friend, who stared at it unsure of what to do, “My sister also dragged me to dance classes,” He rolled his eyes, secretly thankful once again for his twin “I'll teach so she won't be pissed off and it won't take so many takes.” The excuse was more logical than expected, he forced the muscles on his face not to show any satisfaction when Wirt laid his hand over his.

They stepped by the window, Dipper turned the volume up so the rain and heavy wind weren't louder than the song, “Put your hand on my hip” He muttered, with Wirt so close to him all that smugness was gone, “You'll have to lead me with this hand” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat, raising their connected hands, “Now...” He looked down to their socks, Wirt's had black and white strips, while his was a shameful dull grey miraculously hole-free, “Just follow my feet” He stepped to the right with Wirt lagging behind and again with his other foot and repeated it once more going in a square motion.

Wirt's hand shook on Dipper's hips, he couldn't help from being distracted with how warm the boy was. He came closer, stepping on the other's foot, “Sorry!” He blurted, Dipper giggled and they started over.

Two minutes in and both were thankful they weren't wearing shoes. Wirt was having a hard time turning and neither could focus on the timing, giggling and laughing to rid of the awkwardness, whenever they bumped into each other. Wirt's cold nose against Dipper's warm forehead felt like a tiny bolt of electricity.

The song looped and the bumping became sparse, as time went by, they danced around the living room with confidence, even trying an occasional spin that got them giggling whenever they got tangled. Unknown to either of them was the decreasing distance in between.

“This is Claude Debussy, right?” Wirt asked, staring at their connected hands, fingers crossed without noticing. Dipper murmured an 'yes' on his shoulder. “That's like two centuries after the film's time period.”

Dipper shushed him and purred on his neck, sending shivers down Wirt's spine, who became too aware that they stopped dancing and were just in a very tight hug in the middle of the living room. He hesitated to break it, Dipper was like a heater on a cold day and, as he stared at the violent wind blowing through the trees outside, it was exactly what he needed.

The song looped again and it was Dipper's time to regain consciousness, he darted away from the taller boy, the salt of his skin still on his lips. “Well, I think you're good to go.” He stuttered and smiled, turning to the stereo and getting the CD on it's case.

Wirt felt the cold breeze seeping from the window and almost reached out to Dipper again, “Yeah, thanks.” He said, closing the small gap, stopping the wind.

The house phone rang and both turned to it like it was about to explode, Dipper expression went sour as he approached it, “Hello?” Even Wirt across the room heard the voice yell, Dipper winced and turned his head away. “It's raining a lot!” He said, the voice continued to yell, “You want us to die?” He yelled back, “Fine! Whatever!” He shut the phone and took a deep breath, “She told us to get another script and do our part here.” He shrugged “Guess it's better than having they complaining at everything.”

While Dipper looked around for a good spot to shoot and preparing the set, making sure any modern age objects wouldn't intervene, Wirt read the script out loud. Dipper was no longer an evil agent, but a bastard son from the king looking for revenge.

“I can't have a monologue” The boy grunted.

Wirt nodded “Monologues are pretty boring.” He placed the script back at the table, “Let's do improv then. We have plenty of time to waste.”

“Are you sure? I'm not good like you.” He blushed.

“And I didn't know how to dance before you teached me,” Wirt smiled, “C'mon, it will be fun.”

 

They tried several scenarios, but no progress was made following the script, dialogue was removed at every take and three entire pages were discarded, Dipper's character turned from mopey and mysterious to violent and deluded. On the tenth take, after getting roughed up in a pretend fight, Wirt found himself with hands tied to a chair, actual fake blood (not ketchup) on his nose and mouth, his old costume ripped and dirty, an angry stare locked on Dipper who walked in circles around him. The man in control wore a worn out scarf, black eye shadow smudge on his face, a dirty shirt and a vest, not lore friendly, but neither of them cared. Engrossed in their characters, they were past improvisation and into something Wirt called “method acting” which got Dipper's attention.

The bastard son leaned down eye to eye with the beaten up prince, screaming hateful words, “I will turn you into this family disappointment, you will fail your marriage and your kingdom. They will all hate you to your rotten core.”

“Whatever you do to me won't change anything, you will always be shame to our father!” The prince yelled back and droplets of blood hit Dipper's cheek.

The kidnapper barred his teeth and smiled, a hand with bloody knuckles grabbed the victim's cheeks. “Then we'll be disowned to hell together.” He smothered the prince with a piece of cloth, laughing as he fell unconscious, the camera was inches away from them, capturing an intense close up between the two.

Wirt tapped the chair and Dipper released his grip. “Cut!” Dipper said and they both stared at each other panting and sweating and started to laugh. “That was awesome!” He exclaiming, taking the scarf off before suffering from a heat stroke.

“Dipper?” Wirt asked, “Can you please let your majesty out now?” He waved his tied hands.

The boy scratched his chin while looking down at his prisoner, “I think I'll keep you there for a little longer.” Wirt smirked and he smirked back and left to the kitchen, leaving the other frowning.

He returned with a glass filled with water and ice. Wirt licked his lips, tasting the sour fake blood, Dipper had a devilish smirk, making his captive question if he was still in character.

He took a long gulp right in front of the tied boy, “So good, you want some?”

Wirt raised an eyebrow, “This is getting weird.” His voice cracked and his thirst grew, “Enough roleplay, I'm exhausted.”

Dipper slouched his confident posture, “Fine...” He scoffed and untied his friend, who didn't wait another second to get up and stretch. “Here.” He handed him the glass and saw him drink half of it in one swig. “Sorry, I got caught up in the fun.”

“It was fun.” Wirt said, twisting his reddened wrists.

“Why didn't you say it was tight?”

“All for the art, my friend, all for the art.” Wirt puffed his chest and smiled. “You think Mabel will approve?”  
“She better, this is gold.” He looked at the camera, “And I'm probably the one who will be editing.” The telephone rang, “Speaking of the devil.”

“The rain stopped!” Mabel yelled as soon as the phone was answered, Dipper confirmed by looking out the window, the wind, however, continued. “And guess what?” She asked and he could picture a cheeky smile on her face.

“You all finally stopped fighting?” He asked hopeful.

“Pacifica's butler found a camera and we filmed a bunch of scenes!” She exclaimed.

Dipper cheered in silence, “Good, so we don't need to go there now.”

“What are you two doing there? Haven't you finished it already?”

“Yeah but...”

“So come over already!” She interrupted, “We are finishing up the set, see ya.”

 

The boys cleaned up at the bathroom, once again going through the embarrassing process of getting Wirt out of the small costume, even with all the stretch and holes it was still tight around the shoulders, after that they didn't bother undressing in front of each other, backs turned of course.

“I'm starving.” Dipper complained as they entered the car, “Let's get some burgers.”

“Mabel is waiting for us.” Wirt reminded, brushing aside the complaints from his stomach.

“She can wait a bit more, the new script have so many scenes without you.” He shrugged. Mabel had to juggle between her own ego, Candy and Grenda's demands and the actual plot, the later was the one that suffered the most.

They stopped at a drive-through and ordered a couple of combos, with five cars ahead of them, this was going to take a while. The driver insisted on paying as he promised free food on the actor's contract, he laughed and didn't protest.

The rain returned and Wirt began fidgeting, anxious over Mabel waiting, Dipper picked up the camera and turned it towards him, who smiled between blushed cheeks. “What are you doing?”

“And the Oscar for best actor goes to... Wirt as the prince in that... film! Give us your acceptance speech!” He said

Wirt scratched his hair, “I guess uh...” He giggled, trying to keep composure “I want to thank the academy, my family and the two strangers at the park for offering me the part” He smiled at Dipper's laugh, “So if someone offers you a part at a movie on a park out of nowhere, you should consider it.”

“What if it's for porn?” The cameraman asked, closing up on his embarrassed friend.

“Well, if you're into that, I guess...” Wirt stuttered, looking away from the camera.

“Would you?” Dipper smiled maliciously, turning on his seat with the camera right on the passenger's face, trapped against the window.

“No! Ew!” He retaliated, “Give me that.” He grabbed the camera and turned to Dipper. “Your turn now, Dipper Pines in the category of best cinematography.”

“Well, I want to thank my sister, my grunkle Stanley for finding a good camera for way cheaper, and if he stole it then I'm sorry...” He coughed, “and also the crew for making it such an enjoyable experience.” He bit his lips to keep from laughing, Wirt rolled his eyes, “Well, at least one of them.” Dipper winked, Wirt raised an eyebrow, cheeks blatantly reddening.

The driver's burst of confidence was gone and he turned to the wheel just as the car in front of them moved forward. Wirt filmed the rain against the window. The last car was gone and their food arrived. Dipper dug through, shoving the burger in his mouth as he drove to the manor.

“You're gonna choke!” Wirt laughed at his friend's viciousness, Dipper mumbled something with his mouth full, “Slob.” He raised a napkin and wiped a stain of ketchup on the corner of Dipper's lips, the boy grip on the wheel tightened as he almost lost control of it.

They ate the last bites as they arrived at the gates, Dipper regretted his rush, twisting his lips as the doors opened, revealing an angry Mabel already by the entrance. He stashed the wrappings on the bag and hid on the back. “What took you so long?” She yelled.

“The rain” He lied, it had stopped minutes ago.

“Whatever, we are finishing a scene and then you are going in.” She looked at Wirt, “So get dressed.”

Wirt nodded and she rushed back inside.

“Well,” Dipper crossed his arms and sighed, “Back to work I guess...”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again sorry about any mistake, lately I've been really brain-dead when it comes to writing hence how long it took for this. At least it's longer, right?

**Author's Note:**

> slow building is best building


End file.
